PLNU to cut men’s golf, add women’s team

Point Loma Nazarene University, which has won two NAIA events in its past four starts this spring, will eliminate four athletic teams, including men’s golf, beginning this fall.

The 3,500-student university, located in San Diego, will add women’s golf to comply with Title IX regulations, starting in the fall of 2011.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, forced by a number of interrelated factors that left us few alternatives,” athletic director Ethan Hamilton said in a statement.

Coming off one of its most successful campaigns in school history, the Sea Lions, who finished the 2008-09 season ranked 15th in the nation, have not placed worse than seventh in four events this spring, including victories in their past two tournaments. Then-senior Sam Cyr won the NAIA individual championship for the second straight year in 2009, and he also was recognized as the NAIA’s top golfer.